Admiring the Strawberry
by BrittNicoleFFWriter
Summary: Ryou is in love with Ichigo and she comes in two hours early to the cafe...just what can happen in two hours? * *
1. Chapter 1

It was another bright morning in the Momomiya house. The birds chirping, and the sun shining, pouring light gently onto Ichigo's pink bedspread, flitting softly over her face. Her nose twitches slightly as she begins to wake up. It takes a few seconds before her almond eyes adjust to the light. It was then she catches sight of her alarm clock and screams falling off the bed in her haste.

"It's already 9 o'clock! Shirogane is gonna kill me and I just know Mint will have something to say," she groans, pawing through her closet frantically for anything suitable. She didn't bother to check a mirror after throwing on her clothes and heading out the door.

"It's a good thing I chose tennis shoes," she thought as she ran in the direction of the café at full speed. Breathing heavily, she pulls open the door and is shocked to find it dark and empty. "What?" she yells.

"Oh, baka, you're here early, aren't you?" came a voice from the corner staircase.

She looks up just in time to catch the smug face of her blonde-haired boss, Ryou Shirogane. "W-well yea, of course!" She mutters. "Am I ever not?" She hears him laugh. "Do you really want me to answer that?" He smirks. She blushes pink, "Whatever! I do all the work here anyway!" She yells, clearly annoyed.

"You're still not getting a raise, Strawberry" he says, a renewed twinkle evident in his eyes. "Why not! It's not like I don't deserve it!" She screams, quickly rattling off all the reasons why she should get a raise. He sighs, "This again"

He shifts out of the shadows slightly so he can see her clearer and his heart skips a beat. She's standing in the one place the light from the windows seems to be the most brilliant, adding a shining glow to her already reflective eyes. This mixed with her flustered cheeks and angry expression positively makes him weak in the knees. Her hair is also down today, a style he has never seen her wear before. "She usually wears pigtails" he mumbles to himself. He thought she looked adorable when it was up, but he is starting to realize that she is adorable no matter what she does to it. He feels his face heat up and steps back, hoping she hadn't noticed him staring at her like that. "….and I don't see why I should get the same pay as the girls who don't even DO anything! It's so unfair." She finishes, eyes ripe with fury as her lips form a tight pout on her face. "How can one girl be so cute" he wonders, frustrated that he can't completely control himself around her.

She stomps up to him in an attempt to get his attention and her eyes widen, a different kind of blush turning her complexion. He was shirtless once again and she can't help admiring his taut stomach and abs. "Snap out of it!" she yells mentally. "Geez, can't you even dress yourself?" she shrieks, looking at anything but him. He smirks, noticing the color she turned and upon spying her cat ears, he reaches out to scratch them. "Well, I can't say I expected anyone to show up two hours early, especially the Strawberry who's never on time." He says.

"Hey (purr) I can (purr) come on time." She frowns; speaking was difficult when he kept touching her ears like that.

The next words out of his mouth surprise even him. "I know and that's why I am giving you a raise," he says, reluctantly pulling his hand away, embarrassed for having enjoyed toying with her ears so much.

"What really?" her face visibly brightens up and her tail swishes happily. He laughs, but flinches when he feels small arms surround his neck and soft lips gently peck his cheek. Surprised by her own actions, Ichigo pulls away blushing a deep red. He himself could feel the warm blood running to his face and had to fight the tingling urge to touch the spot she had kissed him. "Umm…well.." she starts. "I'm gonna go get dressed" and she scurries away. He lets out a huge breath, running a hand through his hair. "I guess I should get dressed too," he mumbles, heading back up the stairs to his room with a small smile curling at his lips.

Stay Tuned for the next chapter! :)

Note: Ichigo is two hours early, just what will happen to Ichigo in an empty cafe for two hours with only her boss for company? FIND OUT NEXT TIME! ^^


	2. Chapter 2

"I can't believe I just kissed him! I mean, I'm in love with Masaya right? Even though he's not here right now" she frowned remembering a few days before.

(Flashback)

His hair was blowing wildly in the wind and he had a small smile full of love flashing towards her. "Don't be sad, Ichigo. I will be back before you know it"

Then he climbed into his parent's car and they drove away.

(End of flashback)

"You were wrong Masaya, I do know you left and I am sad" she felt tears prick at her eyes. "Stop it Ichigo! You have to be strong, no one likes a crybaby." She told herself, trying to perk up. "It's not forever, just a few months that's all" She sighed, knowing this wouldn't be easy. As she began to get dressed, she realized something. "TWO HOURS EARLY? WHAT DO I DO FOR TWO HOURS?" she screamed.

Ryou smiled to himself. She must have forgotten to set her clock back. "Such a cute baka" he thought. He knew he was in love with her, he had known for a while now. He wasn't shocked to realize it because it had been developing secretly over time inside of him. He was in denial though, if it hadn't been for Kechierro, he may never have admitted to it at all. But he had always cruelly teased her because she was so adorable when she was embarrassed or angry, actually any face she made practically turned him to jelly. But maybe he did have a chance after all, seeing as Masaya would be gone for several months. (It wasn't his fault she talks loudly to herself). He pulled his black vest out of his drawer and slipped it on, matching it with a pair of white jeans before heading downstairs and turning on the lights. It was still too early to open up and even Kechierro hadn't gotten in yet.

Ichigo looked at herself in the mirror, trying with wasted effort to do something with her hair. She didn't really feel like wearing pigtails today so she decided with a huff to just let it stay down as it seemed inclined to.

As she exits from the changing room, she slams into an unprepared Ryou, sending both toppling to the floor.

"Owwiee" Ichigo whines, eyes scrunched tight from the impact. "Hey at least you didn't hit the floor" Ryou groans, from the pain of falling hard on his butt. Of course he didn't tell her _that _detail.

"huh?" Ichigo looks up and realizes she was sitting on Ryou's lap, arms around him. She quickly unlactches herself, blushing. "If you had been looking it wouldn't have even happened." She growled. "Speak for yourself! You are the one who crashed into me!" he snaps.

She glares at him and gets up, turning on her heel towards the kitchen. "Where are you going?" he ask, standing to his feet. "What's it look like? The kitchen obviously."

"Why, its not like you can cook" he smirks, his teasing side resurfacing. "I can so cook! And what about those rice balls I made for you? You said they were delicious!" she screams, growing agitated.

"I said they were 'pretty good', not delicious and anyone can make a stupid rice ball" he huffs.

"Well then, I would like to see you try!" she challenges, her eyes serious as she heads to the kitchen, beckoning him to follow.

Ch. 2 End

This chapter gave a bit of background and loosened Ichigo's ties to Masaya since he will be away for several months.

NOTE: CAN Ryou really make a "stupid rice ball" or will he himself look stupid?

Tune in next time to find out! :D


	3. Chapter 3

****yawn… here is my update, hope its good

Chapter 3

"Pfft" the red head snickers from behind a pair of relatively broad shoulders.

A set of azure eyes tighten as a certain teasing boss looks down to examine the work before him.

"I-I can't take it, hahaha! My eyes are actually tearing! Haha!" Ichigo laughs, holding her stomach.

"It's not that bad," Ryou growls, trying to retain some of his lost dignity.

"No, no I'm sorry, I have seen worse" she smiles, wiping away a tear. "Although that chef was only five, and how old are you?" she burst out in laughter again.

On the table, amidst a rainfall of rice, were a few peculiar lumps about the size of the palm of your hand. One was shaped exactly like a marshmallow, flat at the top and bottom and cylinder like at the sides. Another was something resembling a child's snowball, with pieces coming out and a crack in the center. Finally, the last one was what you would assume to be an attempt at the triangle rice ball shape, a poor attempt, but an attempt none the less.

"Although I have to say, I'm pretty surprised that a genius like you can't even make a rice ball," Ichigo sneers.

"It's obviously this rice! You didn't prepare it correctly," Ryou complains, his cheeks a dusty pink.

"Yea it's the rice's fault," She smirks, trying with a failed effort to stifle her laughter.

Embarrassed, Ryou moves to brush the remnants of his work into the trashcan, but Ichigo grabs his hands stopping him.

"No need to waste all that rice," she says, taking his deformed ball into her hands and reshaping it. He watches her from the corner of his eye, captivated by her actions.

"But… you make it look so easy," he murmurs, frowning at his own incompetence.

She giggles cutely, "It's easy, you just have to know how it's done."

"Come here," she says, pulling on his hands. "You just need to shape it slowly."

She takes the ball and puts it into his hands, gently guiding his fingers to the right position.

'She's so close,' he thinks, his heart picking up speed. 'I can smell her.' His ears tinge pink. 'Is that a perfume… a shampoo, maybe? It smells like… like Strawberries.' He can feel his face warming up, quickly rising in shade.

'I bet she tastes like Strawberries too…'

"Darn it" he growls under his breath, he couldn't seem to control himself today.

Ichigo looks up, frowning, thinking that he is getting discouraged.

"Hey, everyone learns at their own speed, I'm sorry for making fun of you," she smiles shyly. "I am sure you will get the hang of it in no time! Especially with me as your teacher," she laughs, winking.

He looks up at her, his mouth slightly agape. 'She's so cute.'

"You just have to move your fingers in the shape of an L," she says, concentrating with her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth.

Just the sight of that cute little tongue turned Ryou's face a shade pinker.

"See! It's perfect now," she beams, holding it up for him to see.

"Yea… perfect." Although what he was referring to was in no way the rice in her hands.

Ichigo finally notices how close they are and backs away blushing an adorable pink hue.

"Ahem," she clears her throat. "So now you know how to make them, so… uh" she looks up into his eyes and stops, her mind going blank.

He was staring at her, not just looking, he was staring. Like he… like he wanted her. She blushes at the thought. 'What am I thinking? Ryou would never be interested in me…' She pushes it away, focusing her line of vision at the floor.

A sudden bolt of something pushes Ryou forward, as he leans close to her face.

"So…?" he whispers, his voice husky, before closing the gap between them.

It was barely a kiss, it was barely a brush of skin, but it was enough to pull out Ichigo's feline features.

"Eh?" Ichigo flushes red, her eyes widening. "So uh, I-I have to go!" she runs out the door, trying to escape from that determined gaze.

"But your ears..!" he meant to call after her, but his voice failed him. His face had gone visibly peach now and he suddenly felt 50 pounds heavier.

"Why did I do that? She is probably scared of me now… I bet she thinks I'm a pervert!" he groans, annoyed by his unwarranted actions.

Even though he regretted it, he couldn't help touching his lips. They tingled from such a small kiss…

"I can't imagine what it would feel like if I…" his face went red as his mind's eye toyed with him. "Darn it! I am a pervert," he sighs, running his hand through his hair.

"He k-kissed me! I can't believe he did that." Ichigo screams to herself.

She remembers the look in his eyes… "He looked so-so… I don't know!" she blushes, her whole face blending in with her hair.

She tries her hardest to reason with herself, but still can't seem to come up with his motive.

"But why would he kiss me..?" she yells, exasperated, drawing the attention of several nearby joggers.

It then dawns on her that she will have to go back to work in about 20 minutes.

"How can I face him after that!" she screams, hands covering her face.

"Face who?" came a low voice from behind her.

She gasps, turning to look. "Ma-ma-masaya?"

He smiles, "I came back for you, Ichigo."

****Yes, a cliffhanger! XD Hurts doesn't it? Yea I know, this came to me spur of the moment. I personally don't like Masaya so we will see how I take his character… (Heh Heh -o-)

Thanks for reading and please review! ^^


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